Japanese Monster Cats (9784805320921)

A full-color guide to Japan's legendary kaibyo—supernatural, shape-shifting monster cats—from classic art to contemporary pop culture.

Cats can often turn into humans; Japanese mythology and folklore is filled with these tales. This full-color guide presents a pictorial history of these supernatural shape-shifters:

• Woodblock prints: Lesser-known master Utagawa Kuniyoshi's terrifying prints and demon cat-wife renderings take center stage
• Paintings & illustrations: From the playful to the didactic, reproductions include "Cats Enjoying the Cool Air" and "A Child's Guide to Moral Education: Cat and Mouse."
• Movie stills & scenes: Add to your list of feline-themed horror films with The Monster Cat of the Phantom Castle, The Strange Laughing Cat and The Mysterious Cat in the Turkish Bath
• Manga and books:The Mysterious Cat Girl, Night Tales of the Yokai Cat and The Monster Cat Wants to Repay a Favor offer page-turning action

This richly illustrated guide celebrates these mysterious mousers and Edo-era woodblock subjects. Over 175 illustrations, paintings, movie stills/posters, book covers and woodblock prints reveal the myth-tinged realm of these enigmatic nighttime shape-shifters.


About the Author:
Tetsu Machida is an editor and designer specializing in magazines and books on travel, fishing, cats, railways, Japanese swords, calligraphy, art and photography. A cat dad currently to seven mewlers, he is the author of several sword-related guides, and his hobbies include visiting sacred cat sites across Japan.